So much to say, so little time...

Yesterday M and I spent a good part of the day going to a wedding. It was my first time going to a wedding here, but he had been to one last year. I wish that I could have taken a notebook along to write down my impressions. :) M worked with the groom for a short time when we first moved here. The bride is Swiss and had been here for awhile maybe 1 1/2 years ago...we didn't even know that they met, and suddenly she was back and they were getting married. :) To be honest, we're not even sure why we were invited, but hey. Why not? :)

The ceremony wasn't really that different from what I'm used to, in a lot of ways, but there were a few differences. First of all, instead of having bridesmaids and groomsmen like we do, there were two couples that stood up with them, one couple on each side. When the bride and groom sat down (which was really for most of the ceremony) the attendants were actually more visible than they were! Also, the bride prayed and the groom read a scripture. The pastors prayed often. By often I mean at least 6 times in the 50ish minute ceremony! I also noticed that the benches were not built for comfort and I'd guess that if North American churches had benches like that there would be a lot less sleeping in church! Yikes.

On to the reception...well, it was loud. I can say that much with certainty. M asked me at one point if I knew why they make it so loud. I said that I didn't know, and he said, "Because they can't make it any louder!" :) I guess that he had walked past the sound board and everything was cranked up to the max. There were many people that gave speeches and sang songs, both done with varying degrees of talent. :) During all of that, we ate a meal including a cold appetizer (deviled eggs made with smoked fish, cold cooked green beans and carrots with a dressing), a hot appetizer (seafood gratin that wasn't hot anymore...), a main dish (typical rice and chicken - very Malagasy and very delicious) and they were just getting around to cutting the cake when we left. Speaking of cutting the cake, there is a speech to be made beforehand, and this one included the fact that it is NOT a Malagasy custom. :) There was also some dancing, but not really as much as I expected.

To be completely upfront about the whole thing...the highlight of the day for me was the fact that our kids were with a babysitter and M and I got to go out alone! We were laughing because at the reception we sat with a whole table full of people speaking Swiss-German and so we just had our own little conversation. Who says you need to be alone to have a nice date? :)

Once again...not proofreading. Just FYI.